


Heat

by UberDuper



Category: Nuclear Throne (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon, it starts pre loop, its like, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-05-29 20:09:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6391552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UberDuper/pseuds/UberDuper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Following an unexpected attack, Rogue is once again left stranded in an environment that is both familiar and not. But this time, the goal is not the Nuclear Throne. No, this time the I.D.P.D. defector is out for revenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 0-1: Regurgitate

**Author's Note:**

> whoops

Rogue awoke to the swirling sound of a portal screaming in her ears. It took her a moment to take stock of what was going on. Her body ached, feeling like it was about to fall apart. Her arms were numb, legs unresponsive. Her head spun and her chest felt like it was being ripped in two. A glance down revealed the front of her jumpsuit torn from her collar to her waist, exposing her stomach and the huge gash that it harbored. Maroon blood, that which was obviously her's, stained her skin and clothing, and Rogue swore she could see the muscle underneath, flexing as she attempted to move. And yet nothing hurt.

Despite being unable to feel anything, Rogue felt herself rising to her feet through sheer force of will. The torn front of her jumpsuit sagged under the weight of the absorbed blood, but Rogue didn't care. She couldn't.

The former IDPD officer glanced around, eyelids threatening to close and return her to darkness once again. The environment was familiar, coarse gray sand beneath her feet and a dark starry sky above, but she had very little time to observe it peacefully, as some otherworldly force began pulling at her. Her eyes flicked upwards, finding a portal. This portal, however, was not just any portal. The biggest portal that she had ever seen, a goliath purple vortex that beckoned to her with its sheer presence. Her feet began to move, shuffling around the corpse of an IDPD 'Shielder' unit, and then again around a pile of three Grunts. The bodies of her former coworkers no longer phased her. They were a familiar sight.

She would have kept walking towards it, even as wounded as she was, were it not for her tripping over something. Her face slammed into the grainy sand and the solid rock below it, prompting a loud crack from the respirator attached to her face. Her eyes burned, screaming to be closed one last time, but Rogue's strong spirit would not let her die. It did, however, falter upon seeing the thing she had tripped over. The huge, hulking mass that was Steroids lay against her shins. Rogue wanted to scream upon seeing the mighty mutant's body riddled with bleeding holes and blackened burns, but all that came out was a tired moan. He was, without a doubt, dead where he lay.

Rogue's mind spun. How could this have happened? Steroids was dead. There was no debating. There was only one answer, and that was the scattered corpses of the IDPD around her. They had murdered her friend in cold blood, perhaps because they had seen him around her. Or perhaps he had made it too far, made it to wherever they were now. Or maybe they were just bored, looking for something to kill. Whatever the reason, it no longer mattered. They were dead, and Steroids was dead.

The sound of scraping caught her attention. Which was good, considering her eyes had almost closed. Rogue turned her head to the side, surprised to find Robot there. The small machine was a step away from scrap, its former chassis marred with deep cuts and burns similar to those coating Steroids. All but one of its legs were defunct, useless limbs that were dragged along like the rest of its body by the singular working leg. Two tentacle like arms dangled at its sides, each clutching onto a device that appeared to be... a weapon. The guns were massive in comparison to the robot's tiny frame, and it took Rogue a moment to remember what they were called. A Plasma Cannon and a Hyper Rifle. The arms that held them looked barely useable, with sparks jumping from the exposed wires and joints. Robot looked as messed up as she felt.

Still, Rogue managed to push herself up onto her forearms, rear end and legs still flush with the ground. Robot beeped strangely at her and continued to edge closer to her. There was nothing she could do but watch as the machine finally reached a suitable distance and dragged the Plasma Cannon towards her. How it managed to resist the pull of the portal was beyond Rogue. Eventually, after what seemed like years to Rogue's overwhelmed brain, the barrel of the Plasma Cannon was pointed at her. It took another long moment before Rogue realized what Robot was trying to do.

She managed to gather enough strength to roll over just as a large ball of plasma shot out of the weapon, gliding along her front, cauterizing her wound, and burning what healthy skin she had. A grunt of pain slipped past her broken respirator as the plasma ball disappeared into the portal. Rogue, now laying on her front, once again pushed herself up with her forearms. Robot let out a familiar croak, the same one that it always seemed to make while looking at her.

“6B696C6C / 616C6C / 68756D616E73” It said, red eye focused on her before the light in it died out, signaling the end of the machine's life. A burst of willpower overcame Rogue. Something in her chest told her not to give up. She couldn't die here. A shaky hand reached forward, and her palm came to rest on the searing metal of the Plasma Cannon. Her skin sizzled against the still-hot barrel of the weapon, but to Rogue's deadened nerves, it felt like nothing more than heavy tingling. A yank on the weapon triggered a reaction in Robot's chassis, the two arms suddenly retracting. The Plasma Cannon, partially in Rogue's grip, tore loose of the machine's metallic claw and landed squarely on Rogue's stomach. The arm smashed into Robot with an unintended burst of speed, causing something within the machine to activate. A whirring came from within, and a green liquid began leaking from its base.

The other hand didn't retract as quickly, still firmly attached to the Hyper Rifle. It dragged across the ground before finally reaching Robot's body. Rogue watched as the Hyper Rifle attempted to fit into the same hole that the arm was retracting into. Something snapped, and the edge of the Hyper Rifle slipped underneath the lip of Robot's chassis. Apparently the whirring came from a saw-like object, because something caught the Hyper Rifle and pulled it into Robot, causing a loud, grinding screech.

Rogue watched in fascination as Robot's top popped off and some sort of white box popped out, landing between her and Robot. The red cross on the top made Rogue's eyes light up. A... medkit? She reached forward, arm heavy, and pressed the button on the front. The lid of the medkit popped off and sprayed the area with a green mist that coated her her, Robot, and Steroids in a cold liquid. The effects were immediate, especially once the extra stomach that Rogue had grown long ago kicked into processing some of the mist that had gotten through her busted respirator.

Rogue sat up, the whirling vortex behind her now louder. Her clothes were still torn and the wound on her front was still present, but she was no longer in pain and no longer bleeding. The woman flexed her fingers. She could feel them again. A smile played on her lips. She was alive. Without putting much thought into it, Rogue grabbed the Plasma Cannon and stood up.

The portal immediately took hold of her, yanking her into the air before she could do anything to stop it. Tossed around like a ragdoll, she could do nothing but wait for the portal to finish pulling her in.

* * *

 

In the derelict campsite, a blue portal opened up. Out of it strode two figures, both cloaked in blue.

“Inspector.” The first figure spoke, casually looking around.

“Yes sir?” The Inspector glanced toward the figure, saluting.

“Status on the... muties?” The first figure spoke again, striding towards the burned out campfire pit in the middle of the campsite. She stepped over a head covered in eyes of various sizes and kicked a chunk of purple crystal to the side.

“Of course, sir.” The Inspector pulled out a device that lit up a pale green and cleared their throat. “You have just stepped over Subjects Two and Three. They, in addition to Subjects Five, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten are all confirmed deceased.” They scrolled down on the device, continuing after a moment's pause. “Subjects One, Four, Six, and Eleven are all unaccounted for. Subject Twelve recently vacated this very area after engaging Subject Eight."

“...What do you mean 'unaccounted for', Inspector?” The first figure seemed irritated at that, and planted her foot on a mass of white feathers in response.

“W-Well, Captain...” The Inspector cleared their throat. “Subject One's body hasn't turned up...” They scrolled back up on the device, tapping it a few times before going on. “Subjects Four and Eleven have been noted to destroy their own corpses after death, so their deaths cannot be confirmed. And Subject Six has been notably difficult to take down, even persisting through universes...”

“Mmhmm...” Captain sounded displeased, and finally kicked the mass of feathers to the side. “And Subject Twelve has left?”

“Yes sir.” The Inspector responded.

“Interesting...” Captain murmured, striding forward. She, and the inspector, came to a rest near the campfire pit, two corpses at their feet. Captain ignored what appeared to be a mass of pure muscle in favor of the small machine whirring quietly next to it. She picked it up, inspecting its damaged chassis. “Subject Eight.” She stated quietly, running her hand over a large burn. The burnt metal crumbled away, worn thin over time and by constant abuse, revealing shattered supports and sparking wires. Captain stared quietly at it for a moment before handing it to the Inspector.

“S-Sir?” They asked, confused at the machine suddenly in their hands.

“Take that to the tech department.” She stated, snapping her fingers. A blue portal opened in front of the pair, though Captain didn't step through quite yet. Her gaze settled on the hulking muscle mass on the ground. She spoke after a moment, turning towards the Inspector. “Are you aware of the status of the deciphering of the data we recovered from the Labs?”

“...I believe we're close to a breakthrough, sir.” The Inspector stated.

“Excellent.” Captain pointed at the muscle mass and the chunk of crystal on the ground. “Remind me to dispatch a squad back here to retrieve those two for synthesis. Oh, and make sure to send a squad after Subject Twelve.” And with that, the Captain of the IDPD stepped through the blue portal. The Inspector quickly followed, and the portal closed behind them.

 


	2. 1-1 : Back 2 Bizniz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was tired of this not being done tbh.

Rogue hit the sandy ground, her Plasma Cannon landing beside her. The gritty material was warm and rough against her exposed skin, a comforting feeling that contrasted with her previous numbness. She coughed, dislodging some stray grains of sand from her throat and slowly, shakily, climbed to her feet. The portal had been gracious enough to drop her off in an enclosed area, with a moderately sized crack in the rock surrounding her being the only way out of where she resided.

The woman looked around, nuclear sun shining down onto her skin, far warmer than the sun in her own dimension could ever hope to be. Her hand rose to the skin of her stomach, unconsciously scratching at some of the craggy black growths that had grown on her dark skin. Crystal had told her that the process was normal for some, a mutation dubbed 'Rhino Skin' that was more common in... squishier mutants. Before she could get too caught up in thinking about her purple friend, Rogue focused on the area around her.

It seemed she was back in the desert. She narrowed her eyes. Something about this was strange. From her position, Rogue could see a few bandits milling around, one of them lighting a fire in a barrel and plopping itself down next to it. A scorpion scuttled by, pincers clacking as it warded away a stray bandit. And yet...

Her eyes widened in surprise when a sniper ambled past, butting yet another bandit to the side with its rifle as it walked. Rogue snatched up her weapon and pressed herself to the wall, out of sight. A sniper in the desert? Something was definitely wrong, and it took a moment for her to realize what exactly it was.

Rogue thought back to when she was still in the I.D.P.D. and served as an assistant to the group's Captain. She remembered seeing multiple instances in which mutants, her friends that she knew infinitely more about than she let on, slew the Nuclear Throne, felled the massive machine and sat atop it. All of those instances died without achieving anything, never able to fully harness the power of the primordial machine like the first mutant was. And then something happened, the final straw that broke the camel's back and prompted Rogue to steal away to one of the mutant's dimensions.

It had been Fish who had done it the first time. Rogue didn't remember how or why, but Fish had done something different to defeat the Throne and, when he had, moved into a different dimension through the energy the Throne had released. It was then that Rogue had realized that their way might be possible, that the mutants could reverse what had been done, just maybe.

Now that she was seeing it again, the desert looked just like it had back then, only now it was before her very eyes instead of on a screen. Rogue glanced out of the crack. A giant, purple bug buzzed as it floated past, a few stray maggots dropping from its mouth parts. Rogue moved back into cover, torn jumpsuit flopping against her. Her eyes narrowed at the ragged edges. This was going to be a problem if she didn't fix it.

Rogue flexed her fingers, momentarily wondering what happened to her gloves, before she slipped her arms out of her sleeves, letting what remained of the top half of her jumpsuit settle around her waist. Now... Rogue snatched up a thin rock, probably chipped off of the wall by the portal, and did her best to slice a few evenly spaced holes at her waist, doing her best not to cut herself. She then cleanly sliced off one of her sleeves. Behind the busted respirator, Rogue's lips pulled into a thin line. It was... surprisingly cathartic to be destroying her jumpsuit like this.

Eventually, Rogue had fashioned a shitty belt made from her sleeve, which she threaded through the makeshift loops she had cut into her waistline. From there, it was a relatively simple matter to sever what remained of the top of her jumpsuit. Rogue went to throw the fabric away, but her eyes widened upon seeing the Portal Strike on the other end of the enclosure, looking pristine and ready to fire. She scrambled over to the device, unable to believe her luck, and looked it over. Indeed, the machine appeared to still be functioning just as well as it had before. Rogue let out a pleased grunt, popping open a panel on the part that pressed to her back and stuffing the jumpsuit cloth in alongside the rag and tools she used to clean and maintain the Portal Strike.

Satisfied, Rogue stood up. The sun shined down onto her skin, pure and hot without the jumpsuit to block it. Rogue noted that she was dotted with more patches of Rhino Skin than she had thought. She also noticed the red laser dot pointed at her chest.

The searing energy bullet drilled into her sternum before she could do anything, charring her skin before dissipating into the air. Rogue grunted, stumbling back from the impact. It hurt a lot more than she was used to, her actual body taking the full power of the attack without her jumpsuit's heat dampeners to limit the pain. The sniper that shot her let out a series of beeps that even she could hear from her position. When Rogue looked up, she found herself staring down a barrage of green.

She jumped to the side, letting the toxic projectiles splatter against the rear wall of the enclosure. Great. Everything out there knew she was here. Plasma Cannon in hand, Rogue took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy.

Once the wave of attacks was over, Rogue peeked through the crack, taking but a moment to line up a shot at one of those infernal golden scorpions, before firing off a charge from her weapon. The plasma ball shot through the air, cutting down a few poor bandits before striking home on her target. The golden scorpion let out what sounded like a cry of pain before detonating in a spray of toxic fluid. The plasma ball warbled, blowing up into a series of smaller plasma projectiles that cut through other parts of the crowd. A few chunks of radiation bounced into Rogue's enclosure, which she gladly snatched up.

Before Rogue could get a second shot off, something whizzed past her head, striking the stone wall near her. A bolt. Her lips pursed in surprise, and Rogue cautiously peeked through the crack.

She was rewarded with cold steel slamming into her forehead, knocking her backwards. A grunt escaped her lips as she landed painfully on the grainy ground, a welt already forming on her head. When her vision cleared, Rogue found herself staring up at a familiar eye.

“This your fault, ain't it?” Yung Venuz asked in English, directing his Auto Crossbow at Rogue's neck. “You with th' I.D.P.D.” Rogue blinked. She thought... that they all died? But Yung Venuz never actually died, Rogue reminded herself. He always just... teleported away.

“I _was_.” The words left Rogue's mouth before she could think about it, and the Venusian snorted. It had come as a surprise to her when she first learned that Y.V. could speak in her native tongue. It had certainly given credence to his claims of being _the_ Gun God. She still didn't believe in gods.

“You th' one that gots 'em all killed. Jus' three of us survived, and ain't no surprise ta me that you're one'uv 'em.”

“Three?” Rogue's gaze flicked upwards, and she found herself staring down the barrel of a Gatling Bazooka, held still by none other than Horror. The nuclear creature growled, and Rogue had no doubts that it would pull the trigger and obliterate them. Despite that, it seemed to be waiting for something.

“Ya gots any last words, traitor?” Y.V. asked, tapping his foot. A couple granules of sand flew into her calf, and the I.D.P.D. defector sighed.

“I'm not one of them anymore. I haven't been since I joined you guys.” Rogue fisted her hands in the sand, letting the warmth seep into her palms. “But... I'm sorry.”

“Sorry don' cut _shit_ , doll.” Y.V. scoffed. “Your sorry ain't gon' bring back nobody. Surely ya know this.”

“I'm not stupid.” Rogue snapped, resigned to her fate. She would die at the hands of a Gun God and a nuclear nightmare, and there was clearly nothing she could do to convince them to leave her alive. “If you're going to kill me, get on with it.”

“Tha's th' plan.” Y.V. clicked something on his weapon, priming a bolt. And then Horror barked. The creature jumped forward, dropping the oversized bazooka in favor of a wrench.

It leaped forward, over the prone Rogue, whacking a red ball of energy out of the air. Y.V. and Rogue both looked up. Rogue's eyes widened at the sight of another barrage of projectiles coming for them. Y.V jumped backwards, moving to take shelter in the enclosure. Horror scampered back, ducking into the area after Y.V.. Rogue chose to follow Horror, snatching up her singular weapon and huddling into the corner. It growled at her, brandishing the wrench threateningly, but didn't do anything to actively hurt her.

“Damn shit's been straight up whack since we done busted a cap 'n tht f'ckin' throne, man...” Y.V. muttered, pulling an Energy Hammer out of nowhere. The Gun God reeled back, then whipped the hammer forward, obliterating the wall and the maggot fly that was on the other side. He glanced over at Horror and Rogue, the former barking and snatching up its bazooka.

“Aight, doll. Ya wanna prove yer not a f'ckin' traitor?” Y.V. pointed out of the alcove. “Th'n git the _fuck_ out there and f'ckin' cover me.” He catapulted forward, Horror hot on his heels, and Rogue had no choice but to follow the pair.

The trio was immediately assaulted by a swarm of maggots. Rogue brought the Plasma Cannon up to block part of the spray, but more than half still hit her exposed skin. She hissed as their tiny hairs stuck in her skin. The venom the little maggots held was nothing more than irritating, though she had learned that a large group of them could easily take down even the strongest of mutants. A trio of scorpions leaped from around a corner, but Y.V. simply flicked his wrist, wiping them out with a single swing. Horror barked happily, unleashing a torrent of rockets at a group of snipers and assassins. They, too, met a quick demise. Rogue fired off a round from her weapon to cover their rear, disintegrating a giant fly.

Y.V. swung his hammer at a wall, jumping into the alcove he created a moment later. Horror followed him without hesitation, and it took Rogue a moment to realize why. A blue portal tore itself open, and three IDPD grunts rolled out of it. One of them gunned down a couple bandits, while the other two scoured the area. Once they caught sight of Rogue sprinting after Y.V. and Horror, they started shouting and pointing.

“Shit.” Rogue growled, hefting her cannon. They'd found her. Y.V. just snorted, sticking his crossbow out of the alcove.

“No popo.” He pulled the trigger, and a bolt shot out, cutting through a crowd of maggots before reaching its true destination. One of the grunts cried out as the bolt slipped through their chest, causing them to crumple to the ground. The bolt suddenly swerved as it exited, spearing itself into another grunt's head. The final member of the group turned to his two fallen comrades, and found himself staring down a rocket. His body crushed a bandit as it flew backwards.

Horror wiggled its butt, barking happily before leaping out of the alcove. The radiation on the ground zipped towards the creature, soaking into its nuclear 'skin'. Horror let out a screech, and a ray of radiation shot out, vaporizing a pair of scorpions. It then happily scampered off, rolling around in a maggot nest and killing them.

“Ya stupid dog, what th'fuck y' think you're doin' right now?!” Y.V. stormed over to Horror, scolding it. Rogue looked around, slowly following the triangle. The area was mostly clear. A few stray maggots wandered around, and she could hear the far off scuttling and buzzing of scorpions and giant flies. They'd probably come once they heard them fooling around.

“...” Rogue stood next to Y.V., who was still trying to get Horror to stop rolling around in dead maggots. Something about the air seemed... tense. She glanced to the side as a maggot approached her, and she sent her heel into its squishy carapace, crushing it beneath her foot.

A horn sounded through the air, and the three 'mutants' snapped to attention, glancing around for the source of the sound. Horror saw it first, pointing at the wall with its maw and barking. Rogue glanced over in said direction, eyes widening at the white portal that was quickly growing. She reached down, hands burning as they came in contact with Horror's 'skin', and tossed it backwards. It screeched at her as it tumbled through the air. Right as Rouge jumped to the side, slamming her shoulder into Y.V. and sending the two of them tumbling to the ground, a blue and black van shot out of the white portal. A piercing siren rang through the air, the vehicle careening through the area where the three formerly stood, coming to a stop only after it had plowed through some of the rock making up the 'walls' of the area. The far off sound of screeching and buzzing floated towards them, indicating that the rest of the wildlife had heard the siren and were now converging.

A salvo of rockets flew over Rogue's head, impacting the side of the van just as the squad of IDPD within it jumped out and returned fire. Rogue stumbled to her feet, snatching up the Plasma Cannon and taking aim. The large green ball of plasma shot forward and slid past the IDPD and their van, slamming into the far wall just as a group of scorpions rounded the corner.

Y.V. began returning fire on the police officers, shoving Rogue to the side as a hail of gunfire rained down upon them. Horror cried out, spraying its beam of radiation and quickly reducing two of the officers to a puddle of radioactivity. Rogue hit the ground, weapon spinning out of her grip. She scrambled after it, flopping out of the way of a spray of gunfire. Horror continued to screech, running around and blasting the IDPD with radiation. Y.V. had turned to face the incoming scorpions and flies, bolts whizzing through the air.

It seemed like forever before Rogue finally felt her hands wrap around the grip of a weapon. Her hand settled familiarly around one of the IDPD's stock rifles, and Rogue unloaded what remained of the clip into one of the grunts that had rolled near her. As the officer collapsed to the ground, an explosion rattled through the air, the van spraying shrapnel around the area, shredding the Inspector that was standing nearby. A few tiny bits dashed her exposed upper half, but she was otherwise left unscathed.

The air settled around her, becoming quiet. Rogue blinked, limbs aching. It seemed that they'd done it. A black, noodly hand appeared before her. It, surprisingly, didn't have a gun that it was pointing at her face. Rogue glanced up, finding Y.V. staring blankly down at her.

“Get up, popo.” He grunted. “We've gotta keep goin'.” Rogue blinked, and Horror scampered over, placing its forelegs on her shin and barking. “We don' want them damn fuzz ridin' our tailpipe. 'M sure y'know how they be.” Rogue stared at the triangle for a moment before placing her free hand in his. His skin, if it could be called that, felt... scaly almost. He yanked on her arm, bringing her to her feet unceremoniously.

“Why the change of heart?” Rogue snorted, examining the rifle in her hands. It was almost new, pristine and the clip felt solid in the gun, the thing probably not ever having to needed reloading until now.

“Ain't a change of mind, doll.” Y.V. narrowed his eye at her, picking up his Energy Hammer. “I don' trust ya. Horror wants ya t'come along.” Rogue cocked an eyebrow, not believing him for a second. Horror wiggled its butt, barking happily.

“Sure.” Rogue stooped down, grabbing her Plasma Cannon and scratching Horror's head with the barrel of her new rifle. One of the grunts, evidently not dead now that he was moving, cocked an arm back, though Rogue had almost missed the movement. She raised the rifle and fired off a shot, Y.V. turning just in time to see the blue bullets sink into the grunt's head. The moment that his head hit the sand, a piercing siren rang through the air and a purple portal tore itself open. Y.V. swore, sprinting towards the portal. Rogue and Horror dashed after him, and the three jumped into the vortex just as the IDPD burst into the desert, carting them away.

 


End file.
